Circular-knitting machine



(Nuo Model.)

. E. A. HIRNER..

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. No. 471,220. Patented Mar. '22, 18.92.

llNirn STATES ATENT muon.

EMIL A. HIRNER, 0F ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,220, dated March 22, 1892. Application filed October 29, 1890. Serial No. 369,701. (No model.)

To all whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL A. HIRNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Allen' town, in the county of Lehigh, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation t0 certain new and useful improvements in circular-knitting machines; and it has for its object, among others, to provide for the ready swinging of the cams on posts or supports outside of the cylinder, the said posts being, preferably, carried by a partial ring detachably held in place outside of the cylinder and the cams working through openings in the cylinder. I provide a bracket or arm on the said partial ring, which is provided with a hole that serves as a yarn-carrier bracket. I provide means for holding the cams which are carried on said postsin either of their two positions.

Another object is to avoid the pushing up and pulling down of the the needles by hand, as in making the heel and toe of a stocking,

`cams being provided for changing the course of the needles.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which-- Figure l is a diagrammatic view of a portion of the cylinder provided with my improvements, looking at the outside thereof. Fig. 2 is a similar view looking at the reverse side, and also showing a vertical section of same; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figs. l and 2, looking upon a portion Y of its complete cylinder.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates the cylinder, formed with horizontal ledge a and depending flange l), provided with the gear or teeth c, all of usual and well-known construction.

B are the stitch-cams arranged upon the in= terior of the cylinder, as seen in Fig. 2.

C are the drop-cams, having a rounded heel c', working in a corresponding depression or recess in the lower outer edges of the stitclri cams and pivoted upon suitable pivots c2, the said drop-cams having aY notch or projection c3, as seen clearly in Fig. 2, designed to abut against the outer faces of the stitch-cams to limit the upward movement of the drop-cams. They assume their normal position by gravity.

D are the guard-cams, secured in any suitable manner upon the interior of the cylinder at equal distances from the central swinging cam hereinafter described.

E are the bottom cams upon the interior of the cylinder.

F is the centrally-arranged swinging cam pivoted upon the pivot d, as shown in Fig. 2. These constitute the parts upon the interior of the cylinder, the parts upon one side of the swinging cam being exact duplicates of those upon the other side.

G is a partial ring 0r band designed to rest upon the ledge a, as seen in Figs. l and 2, and detachably secured thereto in any suitable manner-as, for instance, by screws e, as seen in said Figs. l and 3. The ends of this ring or partial ring are turned upwardly and outwardly at an angle of about forty-five degrees to form the extensions f, as seen best in Fig. l.

H are posts or rods, the lower ends of which are held in sockets in the said extensions, and are preferably detachably held thereinas, for instance, by the screws g, which pass through the ends of the extensions and bear against the ends of the posts or rods within the sockets of the extensions-so as to firmly hold the rods in place and yet allow of their ready removal when desired. On these posts are arranged the pull-down cams I, which are carried by sleeves or collars I', which are free to move longitudinally on the said rods except when otherwise controlled. These pull-down cams are formed with a groove upon their under side, as seen more clearly in l at the right, which communicates with the groove t2, as seen in said figure, and also in Fig. 2 at the left. Upon each of the four sleeves-that is, of the pull-down and push-up cams-there is but a single wing or cam aside from the thumb-piece. Around each rod is a spiral spring J, having one end secured to or finding a point of resista-nce 5 against caps orshoulders 7L on the upper ends of the posts,the other end of each spring being so connected with the sleeve or cam as to give it a partial rotation as the sleeve is moved longitudinally upon the rod. Each Io cam is provided with a finger-piece t', by which it is manipulated. The upper end of the sleeve has a longitudinal slot j, designed to engage the pin 7i; when the cam is thrown out, as shown at the right of Fig. l, so as to hold it out of harness. The pull-down cams are designed to work throughopenings K, formed in the cylinder, as seen in Figs. l and 2. They are to be operated by hand or in any other preferred manner to throw them into or zo out of harness.

Suitably held in bearings at the center of the ring portion or band G are the posts Il, which extend in an opposite direction to the posts II, as seen clearly in Fig. l.

M are the push-up cams, carried by sleeves m, movable lengthwise on the said rods and provided with springs N, coiled around the rod and connected with the cams or sleeves in the same manner as the springs .I of the 3o pull-down cam, so as to give them a partial rotation at predetermined periods. These sleeves are provided with slots'Z, designed to engage pins nt on the rods to hold the cams out of harness, as desired. These cams work 3 5 through openings O in the cylinder, as seen in Fig. 1. The upper faces of the push-up cams are formed with depressions or chan nels 0 to guide the shanks of the needles.

I is an arm projecting outward from the 4o ring portion or band G, and is provided near its outer end with a hole p, in which is designed to be secured the yarn-carrier bracket, which may be held in position by the setscrew Q.

The operation will be readily understood. The arrows in Fig. 2 show the course taken by the needles in the diiterent positions of the cams, the shanks of the needles sliding on the cams in the usual manner. IVhen the cylin- 5o der is run one way and then reversed, the

needles run over the stitch and drop cams and alternately push the swinging cam F from one side tothe other, the shanks of the needles ruiming over one set of stitch and drop cams when going in one direction and under such set when moving in the reverse direction. IVith the push-up cams in operative position the first needle catches in the push-up cam at the guard, and as the cylin- 6o der continues to move it swings the needle up, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2, (shown moving from right to lett over the swinging oam,) after which it releases the needle, which is then out of harness above the guard-cams, while at the same time the other needles pass over against the swinging cams and under the stitch-cam and out again.

As soon as the push-up cam has released the needle it drops down on the other needles that are passing under, and then acts, also, as a guard-cam between the guard-cams and the swinging cam. When the push-up cam has released thc needle by throwing it out of action and drops down upon the other needles, it is prevented by the heels oi' the active needles from passing below them until the reciprocation ot the cylinder toward the lett is coinpleted, so that when the next reciprocation to the left begins it is in position to throw another needle out of action. In reversingthe machine the other push-up cam comes in contact with theneedlesthesameasbefore. \Vhenthe pulldown cams are thrown into action and the push-up cams thrown out and the foremost needle runs against the pull-down cam, it swings or pulls down the needle clear under the guard-cam D, as will be seen in Fig. 2, by the arrow moving from left to right and down under the stitch-cam on the other side ot the swinging cam. As it releases the needle it swings back again under the shanks of the needles, being prevented by the heels of the inactive needles from passing above them into operative position until the reciprocation to the right is completed, so that on the nextrociprocation to the right it may again engage the end needle. The other pull-down cam then comes into contact with the needle next to the one that has just been pulled down, but with its back against it, and as soon as it comes against the cam the latter slides down pcrpendicularly with the post on which it is supported and then under the shanks of the needles. In reversing the machine the other cani operates in the same manner.

That I claim isl. The combination, with the cam-cylinder having an opening thereinV through which the exteriorly-mounted cam operates and having the stitch and drop cams, of the extcriorlymounted, sliding, partially-rotatable, and automatically-returnable push-up cam workin g through an opening in the cylinder, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the cam-eyli nder having openings therein through which the exteriorly-mounted cams may operate and having the cams upon the interior of the cyl inder, of the sliding, partially-rotatable, and automatically-returnable push-up and pull down cams working through openings in the cylinder, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the cam-cylinder provided with openings through which the exteriorly mounted cams may operate and having the cams upon the interior thereof, ot the alternatelyarran ged, sliding, partially-ron tatable, and automatically-returnable pushn up and pull-down cams, as set forth.

4t. The combination, with the cam-cylinder provided with openings through which the exteriorlymounted cams may operate and having the cams upon the interior, of the cxteriorly-1nounted partially-rotatable puslrup IOO IOS

ITO

and pull-down cams slidingly arranged upon posts upon the outside of the cylinder and working through the openings therein, as set forth.

5. The combination, With the cam-cylinder provided with openings through which the exteriorlymounted cams may operate and having the cams upon the interior, of the eX- teriorly-arranged, sliding, and partially-rotatable push-up cams, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the cam-cylinder provided With openings through which the eXteriorly-lnounted cams may operate and having the cams upon the interior, of the exteriorly-arranged, spring-actuated, sliding, and partially rotatable push up cams, substantially as specified.

7. The combination, with the cam-cylinder provided with openings through which the eXteriorly-mounted cams may operate and having the interior cams, of the exteriorlyarranged, spring actuated, sliding, partiallyrotatable, and automatically-returnable pushup and pull-down cams, as set forth.

8. The combination, With the cam-cylinder having openings through which the exteriorlymounted cams mayoperate, of the exteriorlyarranged, sliding, and partially rotatable push-up cams Working through the openings in the cylinder and each having a needleshank-receivin g groove, as set forth.

9. The combination, with the cam-cylinder provided With openings through which the exteriorly -mounted cams may operate and the interior cams, of the partial ring attached to the exterior of the cylinder and' having a lateral arm, the posts carried by s aid ring, the push-up and pull-down cams slidingly carried'by the said posts and Working through openings in the cylinder, and the sprlngs on the posts acting on the cams, substantially as specified. i

lO. In a knitting-machine, the combination, with the cam-cylinder having cams upon its interior and an opening through which the cXteriorly-arranged cam may operate, of'an eXteriorly-arranged sliding needle-operatlng cam mounted to partially rotate by contact of the needle therewith, and provisions to automatically return it to be partially rotated by a succeeding needle, substantially as specified. ll. The combination, with the cam-cylinder provided with openings through which the exteriorly-mounted cams may operate and having cams upon the interior, of the partiallyrotatable push-up cams automatically returnable and slidinglyarranged upon supports on the outside of the cylinder, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two Witnesses.

EMIL A. I-IIRNER. Witnesses: GEORGE F. HEINZ, A. F. I-IENNINGER. 

